So Cold
by MementoxMori
Summary: When Loki finds out what he is, he needs some time away from Asgard. He just never expected to find someone who accepted him for who and what he is. Loki/OC:Ember
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: This is split up into parts, right now it's Thor!Loki and as the story progresses it will turn into Avengers!Loki.

* * *

Closing the coat around her, Ember prepared for the cold walk home. Lifting the hood over her raven tresses, she slipped the earbuds in and waved to the bouncer before she left the club.

"You gonna be okay out there, Em?" He asked, worried. She was a bit on the damsel side to walk the city alone at this time of night. Then again, it was his job to make sure that they were all safe.

"Yeah, I'm okay Buzz." She smiled and gave him a small salute and he nodded with a chuckle.

It had been a trying day at work, and she was just exhausted. Stiletto heeled boots crunched over the freezing ground as she crossed the parking lot to head the back way to her apartment. She had only picked up the job because it paid well and it was a night job, she could still study for school.

Who knew it would have led to them wanting her to stay on even after she graduated?

Ember was a waitress at the local exotic club, but not for long. She was hoping to take the money she had been able to save and move, or at least find a better job. There were only so many pairs of grubby hands that she could stand before she flipped out on someone.

Snow fell lightly from the night sky, which made the air colder. Puffing out breaths of smoke, Ember lost herself in the music as she walked. She also ignored the random looks from people who happened to be on the streets at that time of night. Inside her pocket, her fingers curled around the can of mace she always had on her.

One could never be too careful.

Pulling the jacket tighter with her free hand, she quickened her pace. Something wasn't right, she could feel it. And once she reached the abandoned courtyard, she realized that she was about to bite off more than she could chew.

The sky all but opened up and there was a bright flash of light and the sound of glass shattering before an object fell with great force to the ground, and it knocked Ember right off of her feet. Landing sprawled out on the cold concrete; she fumbled for her phone and tried to slide the lock off the screen only to realize that the screen was nothing but a spider web of broken glass.

"Great. Just great! This is all I need." She murmured and sighed as she sat on the ground with her legs splayed in front of her. Pulling back the hood, she sighed and looked around. Had no one else seen it? It was pretty much right in front of her, and the intelligent part of her brain was telling her to get her ass up and out of there…

But curiosity killed the cat, they say.

That and she needed to prove that she wasn't just going insane.

Which was quite possible, she'd gone almost three days without sleep. But, that was neither here nor there, and she carefully picked herself up off the ground not even noticing the small cuts along her bared legs where the boots ended and on her palms. Slowly, she approached the rising smoke and it seemed like someone was behind her urging her to step forward, but her mind was telling her body that it was a very bad idea.

Whatever it had been made a rather substantial crater in the ground and Ember stood at the edge of it and peered over the side. The sight she was welcomed to… it was definitely not one that she expected.

There was a naked man curled up in a ball in the middle of the crater, and he seemed to be out cold. But, more importantly was the fact that there was naked man that fell from the sky at all.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me, here." Sighing, she looked around and laughed hysterically. This had to have been the weirdest night ever for her, and that was saying something. Her whole night had been just one thing after another, and then this to top it off?

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath and slid down the embankment and carefully approached the man. Not sure if it was safe to touch him or not, she poked him with the toe of her boot and he flopped over onto his back.

"Oh, shit…" The blush rushed to her face so hard and fast that she swooned. Coughing, she averted her gaze to his chest to see if he was still breathing. Noticing a small movement, she sighed in relief. "Well, at least the fall didn't kill him." Murmuring to herself, she stood up and looked around.

It wasn't as if she could just leave him there, right?

Shrugging her jacket off, she tossed it up on the concrete and then crouched down. Taking one of his arms, she tried to hoist him up enough so she could get him out of the hole. It wasn't the most graceful thing, but she wasn't that big and she discovered that he was taller than it seemed when she got him uncurled. "Sweet Jesus, you're heavy." This was going to be the difficult part, and she tried to do it without killing him. Backing herself up the side, she reached down and dragged the body up out of the hole and the both of them flopped back onto the pavement.

There was no way she could get him into her apartment. Getting him there would be hard enough, let alone getting him up the stairs. Pulling herself to her feet, she looked down at the man, but it was dark out and she couldn't really see him all that well.

Taking her jacket, she covered him up. "I'll be right back, okay?" She said, not knowing if he could hear her or not. Turning on her heel, she all but ran across the courtyard and rounded her building before hastily making her way to her apartment.

How the hell was she going to do this?

It wasn't as if she could _ask_ someone to help her. 'Yeah, hey… could you help me? I found a naked man outside. And oh yeah, he _fell from the sky_.', they would think she was insane.

And maybe she was.

Scaling the stairs in record time, she knew that there was an elevator, but that could wait, she was at her apartment in no time. Once inside her apartment, she threw her stuff on the couch and headed to the small closet outside of the bathroom. Throwing the door open, she rummaged through everything and tossing stuff that got in her way over her head.

Finally, she found her extra set of sheets and bolted back out of her apartment, grabbing her keys in the process. She was silently thanking her job that it required to be graceful in heels.

Out the back door in a flurry, she hurried across the alley to the courtyard where the man was still wrapped in her coat, and still out like a light.

"Oh, I hope you're okay. I don't know if I could explain this to the hospital…" she said under her breath and laid the sheet out on the ground. As carefully as she could manage, she lifted him up and laid him on the sheet.

There was no way in hell she could carry him all the way to her apartment, so she dragged the sheet with him on it across the courtyard, very carefully.

Without hitting too many bumps and rocks, Ember managed to get him into her apartment building where she hoisted him up and she half carried and half dragged him to the elevator. "I'm so sorry about this, mister." And she was trying so hard not to check out the package. "Dude, Ember, chill…" she chided herself.

Slapping the call button on the elevator, she was constantly looking around to see if anyone was coming. It was sometime after one am, so most people were either already out or already home.

They were in and out of the elevator in no time, and she dug the keys from her bra and rested him against her hip like a child as she fumbled with the lock. Finally, she pushed the door open and hurried and all but flung him onto the couch.

"Whoops!"

Cringing a bit, she adjusted him so he would be a bit more comfortable and then took the blanket that lay across the back of the couch and covered him with it. She'd have to go out and get some clothes for him, since she hadn't had a guy in her apartment in…ever.

Sighing softly, she looked him over finally. He was all dark hair and sharp angles, but handsome. He seemed so young as he slept, she would have no idea how old he was or even _what_ he was, really.

Quietly slipping out of the apartment once more, she climbed the next two flights of stairs. She was so tired, that she looked as if she was going to pass out right there. Reaching up, she knocked at the first door on the right, hoping that Jace was awake.

And sure enough, the door opened after a moment and there was a half naked woman standing there with a bottle of beer in her hand. Blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and an annoyed expression played across her features.

"Yeah?"

"Um… is Jace here?"

The blonde's brows perked as she looked over her shoulder. "There's someone looking for you." And the look that followed the annoyance clearly said that she thought something nefarious of Ember.

Muffled words were exchanged before Jace appeared in the doorway. He was all mussed up and looked as if he had been asleep. When he realized who it was, his expression softened and he smiled. "Hey, Em. What's up?" Then came the concern as he noticed that Ember was still in the clothes from work.

Jace was the first person she met upon arriving in the big city. They had a couple classes together, but when Jace graduated, he stuck around. They were good friends, and the unease caused by the situation had Ember shifting from foot to foot.

"Hey, Jace. I have a favor to ask you."

"Anything."

"I need a change of clothes from you." He seemed to be about the same size as the man on her couch. Jace might have been a little bulkier and shorter, but it would have to do.

Jace's brows perked up and he had to hide the pang of jealousy that built in his throat. "Yeah…" He didn't ask why, as it was none of his business. If she wanted him to know, she would have said something. "Here, come in."

Ember shook her head, "No, that's okay. Your girlfriend doesn't seem to like me much." Then again, who would with the way she was dressed? Ember was wearing a tight black tanktop over a short black skirt with a thick silver chain belt wrapping her waist. Fishnets hugged her legs and tucked into the knee-high black stiletto heeled boots. Her raven hair hung straight over her shoulders and her bangs ended just above her dark rimmed cerulean eyes.

"She's not my—" He nodded and disappeared into his apartment with more muffled words and appeared a few minutes later with a small pile of clothes. "Here you go."

"Thank you! You're the best." Ember smiled and quickly hurried off back to her apartment. Jace furrowed his brows and shut the door, not knowing what to make of that.

She had been fortunate that he was awake; and thankful as well.

Slipping back into her apartment, she locked the door behind her and laid the clothes on the floor at the end of the couch before checking on him once more. There was still no sign of consciousness, but he was breathing so she took that as a good thing.

Heading into her room, she quickly got undressed and padded to the bathroom with comfortable clothes tucked under her arm and a few minutes later she emerged in a pair of sweats and a tanktop. Her hair piled into a high ponytail and her makeup removed.

In all honesty, she didn't care if she didn't have makeup on, she was too tired to worry about it. Sitting curled up in the chair across from the couch, she just watched him. It was weird, really. She never really had anyone in her apartment, and she most definitely was not a social butterfly, and now she has a naked man on her couch.

Who knew?

As the adrenaline began to ebb away, she started to doze off. She tried everything from coffee to pinching herself until she found herself fast asleep and curled up in the chair.

Hearing a noise, it jostled Ember out of her sleep and as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw a pair of jeweled emerald eyes staring back at her own and she screamed, leaping out of the chair and knocking it backwards in the process. She toppled over the back and landed with a thud. "You're awake! Good. I thought you were hurt." She commented nervously and crawled back over to the chair and set it back upright and half hid behind it.

"Don't hurt me, please!" She huddled and peered around the chair at him.

"Why would I do that?" Furrowing his brows, he looked at her curiously.

"I – I don't know. You fell from the sky; I'm not sure what I thought you might do when you woke up. I just knew that I couldn't leave you out there…especially in your state of nakedness…" she babbled on and the color rushed to her cheeks. "Are you an alien?" she whispered and looked at him closely, her attention straining to stay on his face.

"Alien? No…" he shook his head and his dark tresses shifted and fell in front of his eyes. "I am the prince of Asgard, who are you and what is this place?"

Wait, _what?_

Ember began to giggle hysterically and she just couldn't help herself as she hid herself back behind the chair and clasped her hands over her mouth to attempt to stifle the sound.

_So he's not an alien, he's just certifiably insane…got it. Only me, right?_ She thought to herself.

When she decided that she could compose herself, she peered back around the chair. "Um. This is New York City, and my name is Ember." She coughed, trying to keep the laughter at bay.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ember, you can call me Loki."

"Likewise, I'm sure. There are some clothes for you, if you'd like. I don't know how they'll fit you, but that's the best I can come up with for right now." She babbled on and Loki looked to where she was pointing.

Honestly, he had forgotten he was undressed. His head nodded and he stood from the ground in one fluid motion and Ember's face went beet red and she whipped back around the chair.

_Oh, sweet Jesus…_

A few moments later, Loki rounded the chair that Ember had been hiding behind and offered a hand down to her, "Please, there is no need to be scared of me." He smiled disarmingly, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. He had his own reasons for being here, but they could wait.

At least for now.


	2. Chapter 2

_He had had enough with his brother and the Warriors Three to last him a lifetime, and with the revelations offered by Odin, he had been feeling less than welcome. Heimdall had been easy to convince to let him come here, which was a relief. But regardless of that, he was still upset with everything that had happened. How dare they treat him like that! _

_One day they would pay for their transgressions… one day._

Ember still couldn't quite wrap her head around everything that was going on, and she knew that it would take time. '_At least, unless he kills me in my sleep or something'…_ she thought to herself.

It had almost been an hour and she hadn't moved from the stool at her kitchen island. Her hands wrapped around the now-cold mug of tea and she all but stared at Loki as if trying to figure out if this was really happening. "So…this Asgard, it's real?"

"As real as your world, yes."

She nodded, and realized that she was very bad at small talk. "What brings you here, then?"

"I needed some time away, and this was the first place I thought of."

"I see." Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she narrows her gaze a bit. "So are all Asgardians naked?"

Loki laughed and it caused a shiver to trail down her spine, and she closed her eyes. "No, we are not. I don't know how that happened, but I apologize. I did not mean to…make you uncomfortable at all."

"Who, me? Nah. Never… I have naked men falling from the sky all the time." Sarcasm laced her words as she took a drink.

"Really?" Loki looked at her with astonishment.

Blinking, she looked at him with her mouth gaped slightly before shaking her head. "Sarcasm? I was being sarcastic." She even had the decency to blush. "I guess you don't have sarcasm where you're from, I apologize."

"I see. No need to apologize, I'm sure. I guess it will take some time to get used to the mannerisms here, I suppose."

Fumbling with the glass as she heard that, she turned her attention fully on him, "Does that mean you're staying?" _Way to go, Em… real smooth._

"For awhile, yes I think I am." It wasn't like he was welcome back home anyway. Everything had changed, even if no one else knew the truth but Odin. He couldn't go back, at least not yet. It's not as if they would miss him or anything.

"You could stay here if you'd like." Ember offered without even thinking twice.

Loki seemed genuinely taken aback by her offer. It wasn't something he was expecting from someone whom he put into a precarious situation. "I would like that very much." It was a kindness he was not accustomed to.

Nodding her head, "Then it's settled." She reached over and pushed the button on her phone that let the time light up. It was almost four am and she needed to be at school in a few hours. "However, I need to get to bed. Let me get you some pillow and blankets and such. I think there was a pair of sweats in the pile of clothes you could wear until we can get you something more fitting." She had noticed that Jace's clothes were a little baggy on him, which was okay.

"You're too kind, my dear."

Grinning a bit, Ember giggled and waved her hand "No, no I'm not really…" she brushed off the compliment and slid off of her stool to put the glass in the sink. "Um. If you're hungry at all, there's some food in the fridge, or I could make you something real quick?"

He shook his head, "I'm fine, but thank you." He smiled at her and she nodded.

"Well, I have to get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning?" She asked with raised brows. "If you need anything, let me know." Making her way to the exploded linen closet, she grabbed a couple blankets and some pillows and headed back to the living room. "Here you go." She set them down on the chair with a smile.

Excusing herself, she padded her way to her bedroom, and as soon as the door opened, her kitten made a break for it. "Hey! Come back here!" She called out and sighed, "Sorry about that. I didn't know if she would bother you when you were…out."

"I'll keep an eye out for her, go, sleep."

Nodding, she soon closed the door. Once she was alone, she flopped down face first on her bed and laughed into her pillow, and soon she was out like a light.

Was this really happening to her? _Really_?

She laughed herself right to sleep, and it took no time at all really.

And then he was alone. Loki looked around the small apartment and he spotted the small kitten peering from around the curtains.

It was times like these that would be hard, he was left with his own thoughts and they went to a dark place, and it was somewhere that he didn't want to be right now. But, he couldn't help that anger that rose up within him at the thought of what his so-called family did to him.

Shaking his head, he changed into the clothes that Ember had pointed out to him. She had been nice to him, which was something he didn't expect from anyone, let alone a Midgardian.

Then again, she didn't know the truth. She didn't know anything about him at all really. And that's what was getting to him. She knew nothing of whom or what he was yet she offers much to him. It was a foreign concept.

Of course, he couldn't sleep. He rarely did anymore, and so he looked around her apartment curiously. It was so different than how they lived, and it was a bit sad. But no matter what, at least here he couldn't be compared to his brother.

And that was a relief.

Happening to stumble upon her pile of textbooks and he picked up the one on Medieval Studies and headed back to the couch to sit. Loki may not have been as strong as his brother or their fellow Asgardian's, but he was smarter than they would ever be.

Thumbing through the pages, he began to read and before long the small black kitten jumped up onto the couch and began to purr before climbing onto his lap. A small smile touched his lips as he chuckled and scratched the kitten under the chin.

The hours passed, and he kept reading. It was interesting things these Midgardians thought they knew about them. Some of it was true, and some of it was not. But, it seemed as if Ember wanted to know about the past, which was something again, that he never expected.

Drowsiness was washing over him and he shifted the kitten enough so he could lie on the couch. Leaving the book open on the ground, he finally drifted off to sleep, and that sleep would be burdened with nightmares, as usual.

_Mother Mary won't you whisper – Something but the past is done…Mother Mary won't you whisper…_

The sound of Tool jarred her from her comatose sleep as her phone rang next to her head. Blindly patting at the table, she opened an eye and was bathed in moonlight from the open window beside her bed.

Picking it up without seeing who it was, she answered. "Yeah?"

"Jesus Fuck, Ember. Where the hell are you?" Drew's voice bellowed over the phone and she cringed.

"What? I don't have to be to work until tonight…"

"Do you _know_ what time it is? You were supposed to be here two hours ago!"

Well, that got her attention. She looked at the clock and it read 9:00pm in bold green letters. "Holy shit, I slept all day! I missed school, too!" She cursed lightly under her breath and sighed. "I'm so sorry, Drew. I'll be there ASAP, promise." She hung up the phone and threw it on the bed as she leapt to her feet and threw the door to her room open and nearly tripped over her own feet when she saw Loki sleeping on the couch with the kitten.

A smile crept across her face as she chuckled and he opened his eyes to look at her. "Good evening, Ember." He said casually as he lounged in the jeans and tee-shirt that she had given him the night before.

"Good evening. I…um…overslept it seemed. I need to get ready for work." She reached up and scratched her head a bit, still not being able to believe a damn thing she was seeing. "If you'd like to come with me, I would really like that and I can't imagine that you would want to stay here by yourself all night -" she rambled a bit and saw stack of books that laid on the coffee table. "Those are my books?"

Nodding, he smiled a bit, "They are quite interesting. You're curious about this?"

Furrowing her brows, she nodded in turn. "I'm studying Medieval Studies and Mythology at NYU." It had always been an interest of hers, actually. "Wait, did you say you read them? _All_ of them?"

"Indeed. They are all quite good, but mostly inaccurate."

_Of course he would know that…he was from Asgard, after all._ "It's taken me almost a semester just to get a quarter through one of those books…" she laughed nervously and tugged on her lower lip.

"I'll have to let you know some things that aren't in there sometime, it would be my pleasure."

"Okay." Her voice whispered out as the blush engulfed her face and she turned on her heel and rushed into the bathroom, but not before shoving everything back into the linen closet and grabbing herself a couple towels.

Once the door was closed, she switched on the shower as cold as she could get it and stripped her pajamas off. Looking at herself in the mirror, the blush was still ever evident on her features and she looked a mess.

What was she doing to herself? She'd not had a guy in her apartment in _years_, and now she had one that she didn't know, yet was oddly very attractive to her.

There had to be something wrong with him. No one was _that_ perfect.

Showering in record speed, she hopped out and ran a brush through her hair and let it hang in an ebony curtain over her shoulders as her bangs dripped water into her eyes. With her daily habits done, she wrapped the towel around herself and tried to sneak back into her room, but when she passed the living room, she caught him looking out the front window.

Even in the slummy part of the city, she had a rather good view – one she paid a pretty penny for, but she had the money most months. Gulping almost audibly, she made a break for her room before he saw her.

And soon her door almost slammed once more and it caused a grin to curl Loki's lips. He saw her, all right, and of course he didn't mind. Though, her reactions to him were intriguing to say the least.

Quickly getting dressed, Ember pulled on some shiny black leggings and a black skimpy one shouldered dress that was somewhat loose and low cut on top and hugged her hips towards the bottom. It was long enough to cover the curve of her rear.

She was a waitress, not one of the dancers. She didn't need to be almost naked as a dress code, thankfully. Slipping on the same black stiletto heeled boots; she did her makeup rather quickly and was almost ready to go.

As usual, she rimmed her crystalline blue eyes in winged black liner and mascara. A dash of blush and some lipstick and she was ready to go. In record time no less.

Opening the door to her room, she stepped out and was greeted by a look of utter shock from Loki, he hadn't expected her to have to dress like that for work. Though, he appreciated the outfit, it looked much like some of the dresses Asgardian women would wear to parties.

The look of shock turned into a look of appreciation and he smiled. "You look lovely." He said genuinely and it caused her to blush.

"Thank you." She smiled and grabbed her coat from the stool in the kitchen. Tucking the phone into the side of her bra, she went to put the jacket on but before she could, he had taken it from her hands and held it for her.

Was this chivalry?

Chuckling, she slid her arms into her coat and turned, "Thank you, again." Her voice was quieter than normal, and she was trying to hide her bashfulness.

Ember realized that she was really, _really_ bad around men at times.

"Are you going to be warm enough?" She asked him, her brows furrowed in worry. She didn't have a jacket his size, or even a hoodie.

"Yes, I'll be okay. I like the cold."

Nodding her head, she buttoned her jacket up and grabbed her keys from the counter and opened the door, holding it for him to exit first. Once they were both standing in the hallway, she shut and locked the door behind them before stuffing the keys into her pocket.

When she turned around, she saw Jace and the blonde from the night before climbing the stairs to their floor. Jace stopped and saw Ember and Loki and nearly dropped the arm full of groceries. His heart sunk and there was a pang of jealousy that his girlfriend picked up on and yelled something at him and all but shoved him up the stairs.

Ember smiled and nodded to him before leading Loki down to the entrance to the building as she tried to pretend that didn't happen.

That didn't work out so well.

"Who was that?"

"Jace, he's my neighbor a couple floors up. It's his clothes you're wearing. We've been friends for awhile now." She smiled a bit and pushed the door open only to be greeted by a flash of biting cold wind and the spattering of snow once again. "The weather needs to make up its mind…" She murmured to herself, although it was mid-December, and the snow hadn't gotten _too_ bad yet, thankfully.

"I see. He seemed shocked to see that you have company."

_Ah._ "Uhh… yes. Because I don't have visitors very often and especially not visitors that happen to be highly attractive men." And the moment the words left her mouth, she wanted to crawl in a hole somewhere and _die._

A light chuckle, and Loki smiled offering his arm out to her. "You find me attractive, do you?"

"I have eyes you know…" she blinked at the offered arm, and took it attentively. "I mean, I'm sure you know just how attractive you are."

"Actually, my dear, I don't." The smile was sad as it crossed his lips. "Where I'm from, I'm not exactly what people find attractive. I'm much too small, and I don't like beating up things for fun." It was true, most Asgardian's were much stronger than he was, and they liked the art of war and fighting.

Loki was smaller than the rest and therefore inferior. He was not a prospect for many of their women. But, what he lacked in brawn, he gained in brains. And hearing that Ember found him attractive made him extremely happy, which was a first for him. "Most of the men are well bred and that kind of makes their brains go soft. Intelligence isn't a trait that Asgard finds useful in most circumstances. Seidr was something that was a woman's trait, something to get them quickly out of fights. And women weren't often found in battles.

He was, for all respective purposes, the runt of Asgard.

Lacking both the physical prowess and the desire to attack everything that moved, he found that he was very much an outcast when it came to his family and one family member in particular. His brother Thor, Odin's crowning glory. He would never live up to that, and now he didn't really want to.

All he had wanted was to be his equal and no one could even give him that.

His thoughts went dark and he shook them away. Now was neither the time nor the place for delving into such dark places.

Ember listened to him and when he went silent; she squeezed his arm and smiled. They hadn't really had the chance to talk yet with everything that was going on so she was enjoying listening to what he had to say. Though, believing that he thought himself unattractive was beyond her. _She_ was the unattractive one here, not him. Not by any means.

"Honestly, they sound like jerks and muscle heads. You're plenty attractive and I don't care what they think." She nodded her head, confidant in what she said – which was a first, and she was surprised that came out without a giggle or a babbled word.

It didn't take them long to walk to the Orchid Lounge, as it was just a stones throw from her apartment, really. Which wasn't great sometimes, but it cut down the need for a car.

She stopped them in front of the entrance and took a deep breath before looking at him.

"You sure you want to come with me? I can always take you back."

"I'm sure. I would rather be with you, wherever you are than alone." Which was something he never expected to say at the moment, but it was true enough.

"Okay." She breathed and took him by the hand and led him inside.

This was going to be a night he definitely would not forget.


End file.
